Balchinian:[i.imgur.com image 500x557]Golden Orb Weaver in my yard this summer. A full 2 inches long, and as big around as my little finger. She was eating a preying mantis when I first saw her. (Yes, this is a female.)/spider thread!

Those

things. I had a boyfriend once who knew I was terrified of spiders. He arranged to have me walk right into the web of one. It was right at eye level, and I was only a few inches away when I saw it.

All loves have to die - of that there's no help;My favourite way to end em'Is the orb-weaver spider's, whose pedipalpEnters the female pudendum,Then dies on the spot, his corpse there still stuck,Left for his rivals to curse it.He would rather die than not get to fark:Personally, I reckon it's worth it

Went mountain biking one year in Ocala, Florida. Was the first one on the trail that morning. The guys at the park office forgot to mention that the first rider through . . . clears the webs. Thanks. Anyway, after ducking countless countless times, and almost doing a complete endo, I thought I was pretty much in the clear and enjoying a peaceful morning ride, when all of the sudden, out of the corner of my eye I see the legs of a Golden Orb Weaver coming over the brim of my helmet. Good times. End csb.

One summer, my wife and I went to a beach in Okinawa. There was no parking lot so I had to take my 4Runner off road and parked near some trees with the trees on the passenger side. Right before the wife opened her door, I just happened to look over and saw a very large orb spider in the cener of its web just inches from her window.

They spin their webs right at the spot where I ride my bike down the driveway - I catch a face full of web a half-dozen times a year at a minimum...

I had them periodically on the patio of my first house. They only mildly creeped me out, but I knew they weren't dangerous, so I let them live and eat the flying insects my patio had to offer. I would have to "clear" a web or two from my doorway, but after 2 or 3 times, the spiders knew not to block my pathway. Smart little things.

This was Charlotte (named by my 8 year old), our lanai spider. Lived on the lanai for about 6 months, we'd check up on her, feed her roaches and moths and whatever else we could catch, watch her grow. Then we watched her spin her mating web, lay an egg sac or two, and then pass on a week or so after laying her eggs. My daughter buried her in the side yard.

Unfortunately, we moved before we got a chance to see her spiderlings hatch.

This was Charlotte (named by my 8 year old), our lanai spider. Lived on the lanai for about 6 months, we'd check up on her, feed her roaches and moths and whatever else we could catch, watch her grow. Then we watched her spin her mating web, lay an egg sac or two, and then pass on a week or so after laying her eggs. My daughter buried her in the side yard.

Unfortunately, we moved before we got a chance to see her spiderlings hatch.

That's a Black and Yellow Argiope, not a Golden-Silk. Both are orb weavers, but not the same species. They can have similar markings, but the give away is the web. The Argiope always has that zig-zag pattern in the middle (you can see it better in Balchinian's photo above). Golden-Silk spiders don't do that.

Golden Orb Weaver in my yard this summer. A full 2 inches long, and as big around as my little finger. She was eating a preying mantis when I first saw her. (Yes, this is a female.)

/spider thread!

Those are cool and they have huge webs. Many years ago we had one on the patio that we considered a pet.One day some clowns from the cable company showed up and started to spray it with something because the guy was scared of it. I caught them and yelled at them to stop and explained that they were not harmful. He thought I was nuts.

Spider thread! Time to tell my terrifying story again! You may have read it in another spider thread!

I was smoking and reading a book on the back porch late one night when I lived with my mom and it was well after midnight. I felt something brush my cheek and just wiped it away and didn't think anything of it. A few moments later it was back and I brushed again. After the third time I was getting suspicious, so I looked up to my left there, slowly falling towards me like like they're Easy Company and the rest of the 101st airborne parachuting into France, is a large cloud of black widow babies falling at me. I was pretty freaked out for the rest of the night and would randomly start brushing myself furiously when I felt anything.

/other than that I love spiders, they kill real bugs so I don't have to//csb

neuroflare:Spider thread! Time to tell my terrifying story again! You may have read it in another spider thread!

I was smoking and reading a book on the back porch late one night when I lived with my mom and it was well after midnight. I felt something brush my cheek and just wiped it away and didn't think anything of it. A few moments later it was back and I brushed again. After the third time I was getting suspicious, so I looked up to my left there, slowly falling towards me like like they're Easy Company and the rest of the 101st airborne parachuting into France, is a large cloud of black widow babies falling at me. I was pretty freaked out for the rest of the night and would randomly start brushing myself furiously when I felt anything.

/other than that I love spiders, they kill real bugs so I don't have to//csb

The only spider I've had to kill recently (a few years ago) was a wolf spider. I was playing LotRO (Helegrod raid) and the little bastid climbed up the back of my monitor. I looked up just as he launched himself from the top of the monitor straight onto my forehead.

I shrieked like a little girl and fell backwards out of the chair, breaking the cord on my headset. A few minutes later (after smashing that asshole into goo), I sheepishly typed up an explanation to my guild mates about what had happened. I then had to call the guy who lived nearby, as he was already on his way over to check on me.

I normally like wolf spiders. They're like little mascots/pets that eat all kinds of nasty bugs, including smaller spiders. The kamikaze facehugger-style dive was just too much.

Spiders creep me out when I see them, but they don't bother me too much - I usually just try my best to ignore them when I see them or at worst, catch and release them.

The other day I threw on my hoodie to go out for a smoke, and as I flipped the hood up... the spider that had been chilling in there swung around and landed RIGHT on my farking mouth. Freaked me out so bad I punched myself in the face trying to get it off. Bastard scuttled under the refrigerator before I could kill it.

The only spiders I let live in my house are the cute lil 'zebra' (what my son and I call them) jumping spiders. Wolf spiders make me jump and squeal like a little girl. Especially since they have a penchant for hanging out in my bathtub, ready to freak me out for my morning shower. Aside from the fact that I know if I saw one of them carrying the babies in the spring, I probably would be very much inclined to burn the whole damn room.

There's technically no such thing as a wood spider (all sorts of species are given the name).... looks like a huntsman but I can't tell (there's like 30 billion species of huntsman tho). Did it have a chevron pattern on its back?